Halloween and the poisoned mind

We carved the pumpkins you can see in the pic yesterday with the kids in preparation for Halloween.

And the scares have already started…

I’ve already overheard one parent telling their child ‘not to eat any sweets that aren’t wrapped’ from their trick or treat bag…

…‘and don’t eat any fresh fruit you’re given!’

If you’re US based you’ll know about the stories of razor blades in apples.

It seems to be pretty much unfounded although what a great viral myth to start if you’re a candy company who wants people to stick to your sweets rather than fresh fruit eh? Just saying…

There have been a few cases of nutters trying to harm kids via Halloween treats though…

In 1959, a California dentist, William Shyne, gave candy-coated laxative pills to trick or treaters. He was charged with outrage of public decency and unlawful dispensing of drugs.

In 1964, an annoyed Long Island, New York woman gave out packages of inedible objects to children whom she believed were too old to be trick-or-treating. The packages contained items such as steel wool, dog biscuits, and ant buttons. No one was hurt but she was prosecuted.

There will always be crazy, hurtful people intent on harming others but they’re not going to go away once Halloween is over.

Here are some weirder facts about Halloween I found when researching the candy thing…

Dead bodies actually do get mistaken for Halloween decorations…apparently it happens more than you might think

The Christians who hand out flyers during our village Halloween procession protesting about celebrating evil have got it wrong. Early costumes where people got dressed up as the devil with red faces, horns and costumes were all about mocking Satan. not celebrating him

The most real danger on Halloween though isn’t needles in Snickers bars or grumpy blokes in hockey masks with chainsaws, it’s something else…

…Halloween is the most dangerous night of the year for pedestrians getting hit by cars.